Guard fence for use in drop test

ABSTRACT

A guard fence for use in a drop test includes a frame defining a test area, four support legs respectively connected to the frame for supporting the frame, and four buffer curtains made of elastic materials and respectively disposed between two adjacent support legs for encircling the test area. As a result, when a drop test is conducted, the buffer curtains can effectively prevent the test sample from an undesired impact.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an accessory for use in a drop test, and more specifically to a guard fence that can be used in a drop test for protecting the test sample.

2. Description of the Related Art

A drop test is a method of studying whether the shockproof effect and protection ability of a package wrapping a product and/or the falling impact resistance of the product itself are sufficient. Conventionally, the drop test is conducted by a drop tester in such a way that a test sample can free fall from a predetermined height onto a solid ground. According to the test result, the designer can determine whether the way and/or material of the package and the structure of the product need to improve or redesign.

However, because no guard fence is set around the test area for the conventional drop tester, the test sample may easily bounce out of the test area and then hit an ambient wall or other objects after falling onto the test area, resulting in an undesired secondary impact to the test sample. This undesired secondary impact will introduce noise into the test result, which may in turn cause misjudgment of the designer when the designer analyzes the test result and adversely influence the design parameter study in optimum design of the product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-noted circumstances. It is one objective of the present invention to provide a guard fence capable of preventing the test sample undergoing a drop test from an undesired secondary impact.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a guard fence that is foldable to save storage space.

To achieve these objectives of the present invention, the guard fence comprises a frame defining a test area, four support legs respectively connected to the frame for supporting the frame, and four buffer curtains made of elastic material and respectively disposed between two adjacent support legs for encircling the test area. As a result, when a drop test is conducted, if the test sample bounces out of the test area, the buffer curtains that can provide shock-absorbing effect will bufferingly hold the test sample back, thereby avoiding the test sample from an undesired impact with objects.

In an embodiment, the frame includes two pairs of opposite transverse bars. Each transverse bar has two ends respectively hingedly connected to two adjacent support legs. Further, a pair of the opposite transverse bars are foldable such that the guard fence occupies less space when it is unused.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the guard fence according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the guard fence according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the guard fence according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, showing the sections of the transverse bars are forced to be folded, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the guard fence in a folded manner according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, a guard fence 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a frame 20, four support legs 40, four buffer curtains 50, and four wheels 60.

The frame 20 includes two parallel and opposite first transverse bars 22 and two parallel and opposite second transverse bars 24. The second transverse bars 24 each have a pair of pivoting sections 242 with ends respectively hingedly connected to the first transverse bars 22 by first hinges 26 and the other ends hingedly connected with each other by second hinges 28 such that a test area 30 is defined by the first transverse bars 22 and the second transverse bars 24, as shown in FIG. 2.

The support legs 40 each have a bottom end for standing on the ground and a top end connected with one of the pivoting sections 242 of the second transverse bars 24 through the first hinge 26.

The buffer curtains 50, which are made of rubber, are respectively connected to and suspended downwardly from bottom sides of the first transverse bars 22 and the pivoting sections 242 of the second transverse bars 24, so that the buffer curtains 50 are respectively located between two adjacent support legs 40 and encircle the test area 30. The buffer curtains 50 that are respectively connected to the second transverse bars 24 each have a crevice 52 corresponding to the respective second hinge 28 such that the buffer curtains 50 with the crevice 52 can be folded along with the pivoting sections 242.

The wheels 60, which are embodied as, but not limited to, lockable casters in this preferred embodiment, are respectively rotatably mounted on the bottom ends of the support legs 40 for convenient movement of the guard fence 10.

By means of the aforesaid design, when a test sample falls from a drop tester (not shown) onto the test area 30 surrounded by the frame 20, if the test sample bounces out of the test area, the buffer curtains 50 will bufferingly hold the test sample back. Because of the shock-absorbing effect provided by the buffer curtain 50, the impact of the test sample with the buffer curtain 50 will be absorbed by the buffer curtain 50 and thereafter the test sample will tenderly fall back to the test area, thereby protecting the test sample from an undesired secondary impact.

After completing the drop test, the engineer can push the positions where the pivoting sections 242 are hingedly connected to each other, i.e. push the second hinges 28 inwardly, as shown in FIG. 3, to fold up the pivoting sections 242 through the first hinges 26 and the second hinges 28 until outer surfaces of the pivoting sections 242 of the second transverse bars 24 are contacted with each other and inner surfaces of the pivoting sections 242 of the second transverse bars 24 are contacted with the first transverse bars 22, as shown in FIG. 4.

When wanting to extend the folded guard fence 10, the engineer can pull simultaneously the first transverse bars 22 outwardly until the pivoting sections 242 of the second transverse bars 24 are pulled straight through the pivotal movement of the first hinges 26 and the second hinges 28.

As indicated above, the guard fence 10 can effectively prevent the test sample from receiving an undesired secondary impact that may introduce noise to the test result, thereby minimizing the possibility of misjudgment of the designer in analysis of the test result. Further, the guard fence 10 is designed to be foldable, such that the guard fence 10 can occupy less space when it is in storage.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A guard fence for use in a drop test, the guard fence comprising: a frame defining a test area; four support legs respectively connected to the frame for supporting the frame; and four buffer curtains made of elastic materials and respectively disposed between two adjacent said support legs for encircling the test area.
 2. The guard fence as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame includes four transverse bars each having two ends respectively connected to two adjacent said support legs.
 3. The guard fence as claimed in claim 2, wherein the four buffer curtains are respectively connected to and suspended downwardly from the four transverse bars.
 4. The guard fence as claimed in claim 2, wherein the two ends of each transverse bar is hingedly connected to two adjacent said support legs.
 5. The guard fence as claimed in claim 4, wherein two opposite ones of the transverse bars each include two sections, each of which has an end hingedly connected to one of two adjacent said support legs, and the other end hingedly connected to that of the other section.
 6. The guard fence as claimed in claim 5, wherein two of the buffer curtains are respectively connected to the two opposite ones of the transverse bars and each have a crevice corresponding to a position where the two sections of one of the two opposite ones of the transverse bars are hingedly connected with each other.
 7. The guard fence as claimed in claim 1, further comprising four wheels respectively rotatably mounted to bottom ends of said support legs. 